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ARS Home » Plains Area » Clay Center, Nebraska » U.S. Meat Animal Research Center » Livestock Bio-Systems » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #375020
Research Project: Sustainable Management and Byproduct Utilization of Manure Nutrients and Environmental Contaminants from Beef and Swine Production Facilities

Location: Livestock Bio-Systems

Title: An inexpensive treatment process for removing antibiotics from agricultural wastewater

Author
item Woodbury, Bryan
item STROMER, BOBBI - Former ARS Employee
item WOODWARD, KATHRINE - Tufts University

Submitted to: Proceedings of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers International (ASABE)
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/2/2020
Publication Date: 7/12/2020
Citation: Woodbury, B.L., Stromer, B.S., Woodward, K.A. 2020. An inexpensive treatment process for removing antibiotics from agricultural wastewater. In: Proceedings of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers International (ASABE), July 12-15, 2020, Omaha, Nebraska. ASABE Paper No. 2000453. p. 1-9. https://doi.org/10.13031/aim.202000453.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.13031/aim.202000453

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Precipitation runoff from beef feedlots is collected and eventually applied to agricultural fields through irrigation systems dedicated to one field. This water contains low levels of antibiotics (AB)and, when repeatedly applied to soils through these irrigation systems, may promote resistance in the environment. Four studies were completed evaluating the efficacy of a proposed treatment method to remove antibiotics from wastewater before application. The first studies looked at how antibiotics partitioned into suspended solids contained in the wastewater. Next, a study was completed evaluating the efficacy of removing antibiotics using flocculation to remove these suspended solids bound with antibiotics. Finally, two studies using diatomaceous earth (DE) as a binding agent to remove AB from wastewater are summarized. The partitioning of antibiotics in the suspended solids contained in wastewater were very different for published values. The removal of the suspended solids bound with the AB was inconsistent at reducing loading and additional treatment was necessary. Diatomaceous earth was found to have a high capacity for removing certain ABs like tylosin through chargecharge interactions. making it a good candidate for removing AB from wastewater. The final study found the unprocessed DE that contained certain clay minerals had the greatest removal capacity. When the organic coating was removed the capacity increased. In addition, the removal of the organic coating improved the separation properties improving the potential of using this DE as a binding agent for wastewater treatment.